Those We Lost — July 10

Honoring those we lost on July 10 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Jelly Roll Morton

Real name: Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe

Born about 1890 — died July 10, 1941

Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and early New Orleans jazz pioneer.

Morton was one of the foundational figures in early jazz, bringing composition, arrangement, piano style, and New Orleans musical culture into a larger national sound. His confidence and claims were legendary, but his musical influence on the development of jazz was real and lasting.

Robert L. Allen

Full name: Robert Lee Allen

Born May 29, 1942 — died July 10, 2024

Scholar, writer, activist, editor, historian, and African American Studies professor.

Allen wrote and taught about Black liberation, labor, capitalism, race, and military injustice. His work on the Port Chicago Mutiny helped preserve the story of Black sailors punished after refusing unsafe work following a deadly World War II explosion.